Miles Teller: The Hottest Hollywood Actor You Don’t Know Yet

"I'm still waiting for my first big Hollywood paycheck ... maybe I'll play a superhero."

So said Miles Teller a mere one year ago (almost to the day) in an interview with NextMovie about his rollicking college comedy, "21 & Over." Well, that superhero gig has come to pass, as Teller has just been cast as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic in director Josh Trank's big-screen reboot of Marvel's First Family, "The Fantastic Four."

That's quite a fantastic (yep) birthday present for the young actor, who just turned 27.

Playing a superhero in a big Hollywood comic book movie also seems like the next logical step in the short yet remarkable film career of Miles Alexander Teller, a kid who grew up in "very small town Florida, like, 7,000 people."

Teller made his feature film debut four years ago in John Cameron Mitchell's heartbreaking drama "Rabbit Hole" (2010), a role he got by blushing and quivering through his audition, making him "real," according to his A-list co-star, Nicole Kidman. He's certainly been the real deal ever since, showing off his dance moves in the remake of "Footloose" (2011) and bringing the hard-drinking youthful recklessness (including occasional nudity) to both "Project X" (2012) and "21 & Over" (2013).

[Related: New 'Fantastic Four' Cast Named, Reactions Torch the Internet]

Teller's performance in the latter earned him comparisons to "a young Vince Vaughn," but he's capable of a lot more than just channeling the veteran funnyman. He seared the screen with his portrayal of a teenage alcoholic — and hopeless romantic — in "The Spectacular Now" (2013), a performance that earned him the Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, an honor he shared with co-star Shailene Woodley.

And he just keeps going. Teller returned to Sundance last month with "Whiplash," playing a young jazz drummer, and will be seen next month reuniting with Woodley for the YA sci-fi drama "Divergent." He is currently in theaters in "That Awkward Moment," co-starring Zac Efron and Michael B. Jordan, and will be seen later this year in the comedies "Get a Job" and "Two Night Stand."

But the biggest gigs are obviously yet to come. Teller struck gold with scoring "The Fantastic Four," in which he'll be playing a master of "mechanical, aerospace and electrical engineering, chemistry, all levels of physics, and human and alien biology," someone BusinessWeek has called "one of the top 10 most intelligent fictional characters in American comics" ... and a guy who can twist, bend and stretch his body into all sorts of cool shapes. The film reunites him with Jordan (as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch) and has him co-starring with Kate Mara (as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman) and Jamie Bell (as Ben Grimm/The Thing).

Miles Teller may also soon have some biopic cred to add to his already impressive resume. He's rumored to be playing a young Dan Aykroyd opposite Emile Hirsch's John Belushi in director Steve Conrad's untitled biopic about the hard-living "Saturday Night Live" alum who died of a drug overdose at the age of 33. Hopefully this take on Belushi's life and times will turn out better than the wretched screen adaptation of Bob Woodward's tell-all book "Wired" (1989), though we don't see how that couldn't be possible.

[Related: Unofficial Art: What the New Cast of 'Fantastic Four' Looks Like as Superheroes]

So what is it about Miles Teller that's making him one of the most sought-after young actors in Hollywood lately?

"He's appealing, sunny, quirky and likable," says Jen Rudin, a veteran casting director, studio executive, and author of the recently published behind-the-scenes book, "Confessions of a Casting Director." "And he's good-looking — it's pretty rare when there's a young actor who has all of those qualities."

He's shown that he's got a pretty formidable range, capable of completely throwing himself into a role — sometimes literally, as evidenced by some of the jaw-dropping physicality in "Project X" and "21 & Over" (and even "That Awkward Moment," in which he gets hit by a taxi cab). But it's his ability and willingness to go the distance with the emotions, as he did with "Rabbit Hole" and "The Spectacular Now," that really makes him a force to be reckoned with.

There's also something endearing about an actor who isn't afraid to make a fool of himself, which he's done in pretty much every movie he's been in. He doesn't seem to worry about his image. He seems like a regular guy, one with school loans he's still paying off (though we doubt those will be around much longer), a crappy car and a lot of Grateful Dead on his iPhone (all fun facts revealed in last year's interview with NextMovie).

His favorite Batman is Michael Keaton, because he looks like his dad. His first movie he made out to was "Titanic." He used to have a crush on Andie MacDowell. He originally wanted to be a sportscaster.

[Related: The Most Fierce Moments From Final, Fear-Driven 'Divergent' Trailer]

Rudin says there's just "no formula" when it comes to trying to figure out who's going to charge to the frontlines in Hollywood, but Teller's dedication and work ethic has certainly helped get him noticed for bigger projects.

"He's had a lot of movies opening back to back, which has gotten him a lot of attention," says Rudin, who adds that having a busy schedule can only help you in this business. "Having Shailene Woodley as your co-star a couple of times certainly doesn't hurt, either."

[Related: The Great Rom-Com Double Standard: It’s OK for Men to Cheat, but Not Women]

As for that busy schedule, look for Miles Teller (and Shailene Woodley) in "Divergent," opening March 21, with "Get a Job" and "Two Night Stand" coming out later this year. The "Divergent" sequel, "Insurgent," is already set for March 20, 2015, with "The Fantastic Four" aiming for June 19 of that year.